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2011-09-17 - Floored About Flooring
As usual, the arrival of Man-at-Arms to the hidden base of Young Justice is nothing subtle or quiet, but instead heralded clearly by the noisy clanking of his large, metal armored form as he marches to the entrance, opens the secret passage, and clanks on inside just as noisily - moreso for the lack of intervening distance and walls to deaden its approach. Progress has been gained. What was nasty smelling wooden beams, now appears to not only have been replaced by custom metal beams, but there is...amazing style to it. Arches along the hallways, careful measurements that the walls are straight and level, and there are even metal sheets being linked between the beams by Superboy. Though they aren't nearly as shiney as the golden beams you used, it still appears to be careful handiwork. There is a clear sheet of plastic on the floor with some books resting atop it along with a few tools, making it easy for Superboy to drag it along the floor. He glances up when you enter. "Hey! Just the one I need! Can you help me out? And any idea of what to do with the floor? You did a great job witht he kitchen and I guess what I'll be calling the common room...as hoping you might have ideas." In one of the room off the hallway there is a bunch of broken junk in the center...it was once the Combat Training Room. "I think I'm claiming that room, pretty neat huh? Has all sorts of hidden cubby holes in the walls and ceiling!" The young knight regards all of this great change with intense curiosity, and no little appreciation for the artistry involved. But he seems perhaps a mite non-plussed when asked for his help. "I would assume that flooring would be as appropriate for the use of each room? Tile for bath facilities and kitchen, wood with rugs or carpeting for bedrooms, and so forth?" The floors they have will work, of course, but are likely not ideal. "How can I be of assistance?" As always, there is that stiff formality about Man-at-Arms' mannerisms. It never wavers, really. "So..metal or floor base though? Can't keep it dirt, can we? I'm still learning about a lot of things right now," Superboy admits. "Oh, hold this beam in place while I handle the bolts. I've been doing both, but it's been exhausting!" He does look sweaty actually, but he smiles a bit lap-sidedly. "It's sort of neat picturing you and Heart Girl together...she's all 'say what she thinks', and you are all 'self-controlled'." Wait, what?! "The floors are relatively stable and even as they are, so I see no real need for metal substrate and framing." Man-at-Arms answers. And how does a young knight know anything about construction? A good question, perhaps. He steps forward easily, taking the load and holding the beam in place as asked while Superboy does whatever it is he has been doing. But he blinks and turns his head, looking rather non-plussed and confused, when Superboy starts talking about he and Heart Girl together. "Pardon? I do not understand. Heart Girl and I work well together. You have seen this yourself." He seems to have entirely missed the point of the implication. It appears Superboy does have the proper tools, thanks to Lex Luthor. The sound of their use echoing loudly in the underground halls. But he finishes quickly so he can answer you, "Umm...well, I guess, that was only the second time I've met her," Superboy explains. "But it's good to work well with your girlfriend," and he grins openly at that, an almost light-hearted expression. "I like to think I work well with Arrowette. I know she has my back." It's a good thing Superboy has the beam secured before he starts in on the rest of the conversation with Man-at-Arms, becuse the young knight pulls back, gaping a bit, when he calls Heart Girl Mann's girlfriend. "I beg thee pardon, Superboy, if I have given such impression as this by my familiarity with Heart Girl. We are dear friends, and I think quite highly of her. We are but friends, I assure you." Mayhaps the knight doth protest too much? "Twould be most uncivil of me to sully the good Lady's reputation with untruth." Superboy starts to look confused and scratches his head, "But...she kissed you on the cheek, and she's not family right? I mean...hey! If you really aren't dating, maybe she just likes you! You should ask her out on a date! You two do look cute together I think," and he chuckles, wearing a goofy grin. "Man-at-Arms and Heart Girl, sitting in a tree....K.I.S.S.I.N.G.! Except, it likely really be a building roof edge, not a tree...it's a goofy saying I overheard some kids reporting when they discovered one person had a crush on another." Man-at-Arms gapes at Superboy like a fish out of water as the other teen hero goes on and on about this. Manny looks ... shocked? Maybe even a tiny bit panicked. "Nay, Lady Heart Girl is not family to me, though she is a very good friend and dear to me." Still, he's shaking his head, in anticipation of the denial that Superboy has to know is coming. "I know that Heart Girl doth like me, as I like her most dear. She is my closest and dearest friend. But we are not 'dating', as you put it. Ours is not a romantic love." It isn't? Maybe someone should tell Heart Girl that? Poor Manny. It's no fair that Heart Girl has her empathy, and he has nothing at all like that. No way for him to know what she feels, even though she knows everything of how he feels. "I assure you, the Lady's honor is unsullied." Defensive, isn't he? "Ummm...unsullied, that's good, I mean you are just teenagers after all," and Superboy just looks more and more confused. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm not a girl! But she seemed like she really liked you! Girls don't just go randomly kissing guys they don't like! Least not teenage girls, they are very senestive about that I think. Anyway, maybe you should keep your options open. It isn't like Heart Girl seems like a bad girl, she's kinda cute...little heavy on the pink, but the skirt's nice." Yes, he's a teenage pervert. "I am quite sure that the Lady and I are friends. I have no further intentions towards impugning her honor." And Man-at-Arms is plenty confused. Seriously? Heart Girl kissing him on the cheek meant ... something more? "I am sure her gesture was merely one intended to express near-familial affection." Right? It couldn't have been anything like what Superboy is implying ... could it? "I rather like her lovely pink attire. I think it very fetching." This coming from the guy whose only fashion statement is gleaming steel. "See! I really think you should ask her out! And that doesn't do anything against her...whatever you are saying....impuge...whatever! Girls /like/ it when you pay attention to them anyway." Superboy actually laughs, "You are really funny, you know that? For being all armored and...majestic or whatever you want to say, you seem really clueless about girls. Then again, I'm a people watcher. Now women, they are different from girls...they are really confusing! Scary even! But...," and he almost looks like he is going to drool as he gets a faraway look. "Wow...." Man-at-Arms shakes his head. If only Superboy really had any idea what he was saying ... but there's no way that Man-at-Arms is actually going to clarify anything for him. No way. "I appreciate your kindly meant advice, Superboy. But I do not think that would be wise at all." He can't explain that telling Heart Girl he knew her secret, and cementing their friendship, already cost Sam the counsellor Sam most trusted at the Outreach Center. So there's no way he can explain that he fears ever telling Heart Girl about the feelings budding within both he and Sam where she is concerned, as they could well cost them both the friendship they value so highly. It is a loss neither would suffer gladly. "Women are but Ladies, Superboy. They are no more confusing nor difficult than any other, I assure you." Says the guy Superboy is convinced is clueless. Oh well. "Ummm...rrrrright. And you are single for a reason." Superboy face palms...palm to forehead movement. "Anyway! I have a catalog about different flooring. I thought about talking to Lex Luthor about it, since he's helped out so gladly before. We should have this place up to snuff in no time. Be nice to have my own space to live, you know? And I'm sure Vulcan feels the same way." "Is there a reason why Mister Luthor has taken some interest in supporting the team and our efforts to rehabilitate this base?" Man-at-Arms asks, apparently letting go of the entire question of dating. As for why he is single? Well, confusion over whom to ask might be a big part of it. But Superboy isn't quite cluefull enough to realize that, and the one teammate who does has been sworn to secrecy. Poor Panacea. "Well, one is I saved his life from an assassination attempt, and he seems to really like me. Two, he donates to non-profit organizations allt he time, and he says he has tons of money, and he does. He's like one of those Fortune 500 companies. Anyway, he doesn't really expect anything more than a 'thank you', and he isn't anti-hero either! He thinks Young Justice is part of the future, and a way to make a better tomorrow!" Superboy grins at this. He obviously really admires Lex Luthor. "He answers a lot of my questions too, and he's surprisingly patient with me, though he's a very busy businessman." Man-at-Arms ohs softly, apparently hearing news of Superboy's saving of Lex for the first time right then. He does seem rather sheltered in his knowledge of the outside world at times. "Well then, should I meet this man I shall be sure to express our thanks." PR is supposed to be his job, after all. "Geez, kids these days, never read the papers!" Superboy does, he is obsessed with the newspaper, likes being in the news, and Clark writes for the Daily Planet so he supports it. "I guess....if you want, I can ask him." Superboy seems...to pause over that. But he then shakes his head, "Sure, no problem, I'll ask him when it would work out for him." Geez, jealous over Man-at-Arms wanting to meet Luthor. That's weird, he wouldn't be jealous over him meeting Superman! He wants to show Superman off! He wonders why he reacted that way? Superboy appears thoughtful. "Ask him?" Man-at-Arms inquires, a mite confused. Ask who, what? Wait. Hunh? "I do not think it is necessary to try to arrange anything. He is a busy man, after all. I merely meant that should I encounter him, I shall be sure to add my own thanks, on behalf of the rest of the team, for his support. That is all." Man-at-Arms is too off-balance himself to realize that Superboy is being at all 'weird' about the idea of him meeting Luthor. "Oh! Alright, sure." Superboy doesn't mention it further...he apparently misunderstood. He smiles more easily, "So anyway, how have you been?" Superboy starts to gather up his books, taking a glance over some information. There is a level, and all sorts of other tools...no cutting tools though. Apparently, he uses his heat vision for that, because how else is he cutting the stuff? "I have been well." Man-at-Arms answers, helping to gather materials and tools. He knows nothing about heat vision, and is thusly curious how Superboy has been cutting things. But he does not ask. That seems to be a habit with him, not asking things. Leaving others to their privacy. "I was, unfortunately, unable to properly capture the thief I encountered the other evening. I believe I would have had to do her serious and permanent injury to stop her, and I was unwilling to do so." "What does it matter? Well, permanent injury is bad, especially if it's just a little ol' thief. But hosptializing them isn't always a bad thing Man-at-Arms, works as a derferrment from bad behavior I think. When you do bad stuff, you feel pain, so don't do bad stuff." That's a simple way to look at it. Superboy is also a bit on the talkative side, with plenty of power in the 'beat stuff up' side...and he does enjoy a good fight and showing off. Superboy has a certain flare about him, a consideration for innocent folks....though he isn't typically malicious. "T'would have been dishonorable to risk the lady's life for naught but property, methinks." He doesn't mention that lady's rather dishonorable conduct, or the fact that she got away because he was busy protecting another lady from the possibility of harm threatened by supposed - but not real - explosives. Superboy already thinks him idiot enough, he need not make it worse. "It is the first time I have failed in such a manner." And it upsets him. "Depends what the property is. It might be dangerous for them to have, or it might be really precious to the person they are taking it from. What if they were stealing from STAR Labs? They can do terrible damage with stuff from STAR Labs. Superboy then shrugs, "You will get over it, I got over almost being beaten by death by Zod on public television, and having to get my ass saved by Superman. It's called the painful process of growing up, even I figured that out." Geez, so compassionate! But he pauses, then looks over at you, "But it's fine to get depressed about it for a little while, least I did." Actually, still does sometimes. "Just don't beat yourself up over it. No one got hurt right? And you tried your best, right? If so, then there is nothing to be ashamed of," and he smiles a bit. Awwww, Superboy did one screwed up pep talk! The young knight looks a bit horrified by Superboy's words. Horrified speechless, as he doesn't respond immediately, or interrupt at all. It just all flows out and sinks down around him, and that young face shuts down, eyes lowering. His takeaway from all that: stop whining, you ass. The bad gal got away. But she didn't beat you nearly to death or hurt anyone else. So what are you sniffling about? "Right. Of course." Tension echoes in his tight voice now. No more sharing: check. "Hey...you alright?" Superboy didn't mean to be that harsh! He's just like: 'It could be worse!' "Hey...it's not the end of the world...I said you could be depressed about it, but not jumping off a roof!" He moves to give you a shake, "Snap out of it!" He's actually sounding concerned, and totally clueless. Poor you, poor Superboy. "Should I get Arrowette? She's better at this social stuff." The young knight looks up at Superboy, seemingly a bit lost. "What? No, please do not get Lady Arrowette. There is no need. I would only jump off a roof to help someone else." Earnest, but still Man-at-Arms is keeping the emotion shut down. Best not to lead with his heart, it seems, as Superboy can't understand it. One more thing he can't share with the Boy of Steel, it seems. Imagine if Panacea did blab what she learned? Manny would never be able to face Superboy again. "Did you still want to plan out the flooring options?" he inquires. Safe topic, please! "Ummm...sure, if you are really alright," and Superboy sounds geninuely confused. He normally is so busy with the issues in his very confused cloned life, with Project Cadmus, the Daily Planet, school starting soon, trying to get this place ready to live in, superheroing, Adam a.k.a. Black Adam...his Super Family...., Superboy groans. "Sorry if I am not real understanding about things, I didn't exactly have a umm...normal upbringing. Actually, I didn't have any sort of upbringing, just pre-programmed data. So that's why I'm a people watcher. I like to think I blend in really well, but sometimes, I don't always understand people and what they mean, or what they are trying to get across...like...motives are sometimes tough for me to figure out," Superboy admits. "Arrowette's normally really straight-forward and easy to understand, she usually just tells me what she's thinking and feeling so I'm not usually so confused," except for when she cried cause he said he loved her, that was awkward...but they worked through that with the use of ice cream. "So...if I'm not understanding something, best to just blurt it out...it may be awkward for a moment, but it's better that, than me misunderstanding. Alright?" Man-at-Arms listens ... and doesn't say a word. Not about any of it, really. The things he has to say would make even less sense if he were to say them aloud to someone who admittedly doesn't understand such things. It would serve no useful purpose. So it is best all left unsaid. Right? "Why don't we discuss those flooring options?" If only Man-at-Arms knew just how successully /male/ he was being by glossing over all of the emotional stuff and stuffing it under a rug, he would be so proud. "Ummm...ya, sure." Other than Impulse and Clark, Superboy doesn't really have any male friends...well, there is Eym, but Eym isn't human'ish exactly, right? In either case, Superboy hangs out with way too many girls. "Flooring options," he goes to get his mind back on track. "Tiles for the kitchen and bathroom sound good. Perhaps those large industry tiles, the grey ones for the hallway floors, and common room floor with some ummm...area rugs! Like you suggested!" Interior design, is not Superboy's thing, he looks lost. Man-at-Arms nods. "Perhaps terra cotta tiles for the common room floor. It is natural, durable, and a bit more colorful. And reclaimed wood can be used for the bedrooms." He has been hanging around Heart Girl a lot, suggesting all these very natural, environmental touches. "And we can lay subflooring where we feel the load will make that necessary." Superboy nods energetically, but then stops, "What's subflooring?" He doesn't know the proper names for this stuff. He just knows...it's breakable if he plays with it! "You know a lot of stuff about flooring," he admits. "I guess I should learn if I want to be an architect," Superboy admits. Man-at-Arms could explain about his other self, his civilian identity, watching lots of things like PBS television, with This Old House and other DIY shows. But what's the point? He never shares anything about who he is outside that armor. "Subflooring is a surface intended to support the floor itself. Often floors are a decorative surface. To give that decorative surface strength, something else is put down beneath it. A concrete slurry, or a bed of compactd crushed stone dust. It depends." OK. That probably came off freaky. "Yes! I get it now!" Superboy nods excitedly! "I think I can do this! And I'll leave the girls with internal designing! I didn't want dirt walls, so I'm using metal to layer it...it isn't real thick, it's mostly for decoration. If dented, it will pop back out easily." He lifts his legs and floats cross-legged, "You are really knowledgable Man-at-Arms," and Superboy grins happily.